Mulled Wine and Christmas Cookies

Let me tell you the story of the first time I had mulled wine because it was quite magical...

About an hour North of Rome there is a small mountainside town called Castel Gandolfo. The town consists of a mansion, where the Pope used to spend his vacations, a breathtaking view of a lake inlaid in the valley below, and a street of peach and pale yellow buildings resting on a ground of cobblestone. This is where the story begins. The air was cold and the sky was cloudy, and a slight drizzle began to fall. My classmates and I had come unprepared for the weather. Thankful as I was that I had at least decided to throw on a thin windbreaker, I wished I had also thought about throwing on a winter coat. We embarked on a guided tour. The history of the town was fascinating, and the view of the lake, with light-dotted mountains across the way, was stunning. But the cold was sinking in.

After the tour and a bit of cold exploring, the next stop, luckily, was a local restaurant. The owners let us walk through their underground secret passageway that led to the seating area. Imagine the scene from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban where Harry enters Honeydukes through a secret passageway, but replace the boxes of candy with crates of fresh vegetables, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what this secret passageway looked like. It was charming and magical, but best of all, it led to the mulled wine.

In case the Pope's mansion, the view of the lake, or the Harry Potter-esque passageway weren't magical enough, next, we were treated to mulled wine, sweet and warm and served in handmade ceramic mugs. It had citrus fruit slices and cinnamon sticks floating in it which added the most delicious flavors. And the warmth of the wine was enough to warm up even the cold-to-the-bone travelers who were drinking it.

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Have you ever heard of wassail? As in "here we come a-wassailing." Wassail is a traditional Christmas drink from Britain, and there are many different recipes for it. Merriam Webster defines wassail as, "a hot drink that is made with wine, beer, or cider, spices, [and] sugar... served... at Christmastime." My mulled wine story took place in late January, about a month after Christmas. But, as I drank it, I couldn't help but notice a distinct– there's no other way to describe it– Christmasy taste to it. And that, perhaps, is because mulled wine is technically a type of wassail. It is a hot drink made with wine and spices, and in my case, citrus fruit.

So with the winter growing colder and the Christmas holiday growing nearer, I think it's time to spice things up... spice wine up, to be specific. Mulled wine is delicious and perfect to add to your table this Holiday season. And I can't think of anything better to go with it than your favorite Christmas cookies! It will make a delicious and festive combination. Below you can find one of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes, a mulled wine recipe (which I have yet to try, but sounds delicious), and a Pinterest board full of more inspiration! Get baking and get mulling!

Gingerbread Vanilla Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter

1 cup of brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

a dash of salt

4 cups of flower

1/2 tablespoon ground ginger

a dash of cinnamon

a dash of nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine ingredients in a bowl.

3. Chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator.

4. Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out with a rolling pin

5. Use cookies cutter to cut dough, then place on a baking sheet.

6. Bake for 12-16 minutes.

7. Enjoy with a glass of mulled wine.

Mulled wine recipe:

Pinterest Board:

Stay safe and healthy this Holiday season!